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No. 6l2,020.

Patented Oct. ll, I898. T. J. CONWAY.

COIN CONTROLLED MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet I.

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No. 6I 2,020. Patented Oct. ll, I898. T. J. CONWAY.

OOlN CONTROLLED MACHINE.

(Application filed July 1, 1897.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

WITNESSES.

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PATENT -THOMAS J. CONWAY, OF LOlVELL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF TWO-THIRDS TO JOHN A. MCGUIRE AND JOHN P. CONWAY, OF SAME PLACE.

COIN-CONTROLLED MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. dated October 1898-Application filed July 1, 1897. Serial No. 648,050. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THoMAs J. CONWAY, a citizen of the UnitedStates,residing at Lowell, in the county of Middlesex and Commonwealthof Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inCoin- Controlled Machines, of which the following is a specification.

Myinvention relates to coin-controlled machinesor vending-machines suchas are used for delivering small articles or packages when a coinequivalent to the price of the article or package is placed in themachine and an actuating rod or plunger is operated.

The objectof said invention is to prevent the machine being actuated bythe use of worthless substitutes for a coin of the requireddenomination, to prevent the machine being clogged by substitutes, andto prevent the same coin being used to actuate the machine two or moretimes in succession.

Said invention consists in the construction, devices, and combinationshereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings on two sheets, Figure 1 is a verticalsection of the machine from front toback on the line 1 1 in Fig. 4, theparts being in normal position; Fig. 2, a vertical transverse section onthe line 2 2 in Fig. 3 of the case, the actuatingrod, and the slideways,showing in front elevation the swinging coin-hopper, the coinguide, thecoin-testing lever, and the slide; Fig. 3, a section in the same planeas that of Fig. 1 of a part of the case, the coin-guide, thecoin-testing lever, and the slide, showing in side elevation theswinging coin-hopper, its stop and spring, and a part of the actuatingrod and its restoring-spring, the slide containing a coin and beingmoved back of its normal position and the hopper being swung backward byanother coin which is represented as being inserted in the coin-slotFig. 4, a horizontal section of the machine on the line 4 4 in Fig. 1;Fig. 5, a plan of the slideways and parts of the slide; Fig. 6, a planof the lower front part of the case which contains the coin-slots,showing one of said slots and being broken to show one of thecointesting levers, a hopper, and a coin-guide, which also serves as ahanger to support said I hopper and lever, another hopper beingindicated indotted lines; Fig. 7, a section on the line 7 7 in Fig. 5 ofone of the guides.

The case A is of'any usual material and has a tall rear portion A,containing suitable vertical or nearly vertical pockets to, in which areplaced the articles or packages to be sold, said pockets being open infront at a in order that the articles or packages may be seen from thefront of the machine through a window or glazed opening a in the frontof this part A of the case.

The pockets at are closed in the rear by a false back a and at thebottom by a shelf a on which the pile of articles or packages issupported. There is a space a between the lower edge of the false backand the shelf a large enough to allow a single article orpackage to bepushed backward off the shelf a which article or package falls onto andslides down the inclined chute a to an opening a in the front a of thecase large enough to admit the fingers of the purchaser.

The above-described parts may be of any usual construction andoperation, except as hereinafter stated.

The frame of the machine is preferably rectangular and of metal, ascast-iron, and is rigidly secured, as by screws Z9 Figs. 1 and 4, to theinner faces of the sides a a of the caseA, the frame serving to stifiensaid sides and to assist in' looking up the case, as described below.

The front of the case reaches across the space between the sides a a andis formed in two removable parts, one of which is the window a abovementioned, (including its sash c0 and the other d of which partssupports the lower end of said window-sash and extends from the pocketsat forward and downward, Fig. 1, to a rigid rail or horizontal strip a,which forms the top of the opening a above mentioned. A cleat a, securedto the inside of the front part c0 bears against the under side of theframe Band prevents said part a frombeing lifted without being firstdrawn forward until said cleat is out from under said frame. The frontpart 0 when in position is prevented from being drawn forward by twopins 0 C, Figs. 1 and 4, which pass down through the rear upper end ofsaid part a behind ledges a a secured to the inner faces (t a of thesides of the case and supporting the upper horizontal portion a" ortable of said part a. The pins 0 C are provided with enlarged heads 0 c,which prevent said pins from falling through said table a", and holes inthe bottom of the sash a receive said heads and prevent the lower end ofsaid sash from being drawn forward. The upper end of the sash is lockedby a lock D and key d of any ordinary construction adapted to throw abolt into the under side of the top of the case.

The back and sides of the case are rigidly secured to each other, andthe top and bottom are rigidly secured to said sides and back.

To open the case, the lock D is unlocked, the top of the sash drawnforward to clear the top of the case, the sash lifted off the pins 0 O,and the pins drawn up out of the part a and said part drawn forward, asabove described, and until said part is free of the handles 6 of theactuating-rods E, herein after described.

The frame B is provided with a cross-girth Z), from which guides Z2 Z2extend to the back I) of the frame, said guides being preferably cast orotherwise made integral with said cross-girth and back. On each pair ofguides b b is arranged a slide F, provided with lugs ff, which reachbelow and under said guides, Fig. 2, the outer sides of the guides beingnarrowed or partly cut away at b b to allow said lugs to pass downoutside of said guides in setting up the machine. In the operation ofthe machine the slide does not move far enough back to allow the lugs torise through the cuts 1) b.

The slide F is supplied with a vertical throat-piece f provided with avertical coin passage, throat, or slit f large enough to allow a coin Kof the proper denomination to pass entirely through said throat, whichis, however, narrow enough from front to back to cause the coin toremain nearly vertical while in said throat. When the slide is in itsnormal position, a coin placed in the throat f drops upon the guides b11 which at this point are at a distance from each other which is lessthan the diameter of the coin, except that there are notches Z7 1)extending through the inner or adjacent sides of the same pair of guidesin line with each other, which will permit a circular piece of the samediameter as the proper coin, but of less thickness, to fall through theguides into the coin-pocket or coin-chute G below. For convenience thethroat-piece is formed in two parts ff", secured to each other by screwsf, the dividing plane being transverse and vertical.

The actuating-rods E are equal in number to the slides, and eachsuch'rod passes horizontally through the front part b of the frame andthrough the cross-girth b and slides freely therein.

The rear end of each rod E passes through the front part f" of thethroat-piece and terminates in an enlarged head 6, and the front endportion of said rod is provided with a concentric cylindricalenlargement or handle 6. Between such handle and the cross-girth Z) aspiral spring H is compressed in such a manner as normally to draw thehead e forward out of the throatf into a recess f in the in ner or rearface of said front part f. The rear part f of the throat-piece isprovided with a perforation f concentric with the rod E and larger thanthe head e of said rod and smaller than a proper coin K, Figs. 1 and 3,so that when a coin is in the throat-piece pushing said rod backwardagainst said coin will force the slideF backward; but when said throatis empty the throat-piece will not be moved by said rod. When the slideis back of its normal position and the rod is relieved from pressure,said rod and slide are drawn forward by the expansion of the spring II,the rod moving first until the head a strikes the front wall of therecess f and then drawing the throat-piece forward.

On the rear part f of the throat-piece is cast or otherwise rigidlysecured a backwardly-extending horizontal pusher or arm f", which whenthe slide moves backward crowds the lowest article or package in thecorresponding pile or pocket back off from the shelf a through the spacecu, said article or package falling on and sliding down the chute a andbeing removed bythe purchaser through the opening a as above described.When the slide is moved far enough back to remove from the shelf a thearticle or package, as above described, the throatpiece is over a partof the corresponding pair of guides, which are sufficiently separated toallow the coin to fall between them, one of the guides if being cut awayfor this purpose at b on the side next the other guide of the same pair,Figs. 4 and 5, so that when the pressure of the head of theactuating-rod upon the coin is relieved said coin, being unsupported,will fall between the guides into the coin-chute G.

To prevent the operator by carefully-diminished pressure on theactuating-rod from bringing the slide back to normal position witho utdischarging the coin, the upper inner corner of one, of the guides isbeveled oil": at b Figs. 5 and 7, leaving a vertical shoulder b againstwhich the coin in passing forward with the returning slide will catchand prevent the slide from moving forward sufficiently to draw theattached pusher from under the corresponding pocket at and allow thepile in said pocket to settle behind said pusher.

The coin K is introduced into the throatpiece through a coin-slot I in aplate 1?, secured on the table a", there being as many such slots asthere are slides F and said table having openings below said slots inthe usual manner; but the coin does not pass directly from said slot Iinto the throat-piece.

A combined hanger and coin guide J, Figs.

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IIO

1, 2, 3, and 6, is secured to the under side of the plate 2', the upperpart of said hanger having depending arms jj and the lower part thereofbeing a rectangular tube j through which the coin passes into thethroat-piece of the slide. Between the arms j'j is pivoted at Z Z theswinging coin-hopper L, the normal position of which is shown in Fig. 1,where the lower end of said hopper is pressed forward against a stop 7'secured to the hanger J by a spring M, represented as a leaf-sprin g,secured to the underside of the table a and pressing against the back ofsaid hopper. The backward swing of said hopper is limited by anotherstop N, secured to the under side of the table a.

The hopper L is a tube approximately rectangular in cross-section largeenough to allow the coin to slide freely through it in an approximatelyvertical position and provided on top at one side with a lip Z whichextends forward across the coin-slot I and is arranged at one side ofsaid hopper and is inclined laterally forward toward the other side ofsaid hopper. The top of the hopper is normally a little back of thecoin-slot I; but said lip reaches across said slot, Fig. 6, so that acoin inserted in the coin-slot strikes the inclined side of said lip anddraws the top of the hopper forward under the coin, Fig. 3. As soon asthe coin has passed entirely through the coin-slot into the hopper saidhopper is restored to its normal position by the spring M, and the coinis discharged from the bottom of said hopper upon the rear arm 0 of acointesting lever O, pivoted at 0' on a bracket j, supported on thehanger J. The front arm 0 of the lever O is weighted at 0 and the upwardmovement of said rear arm 0 is stopped when it arrives at a horizontalposition by the under side of the top of the bracket j.

' The weight of an unmutilated coin of the proper denomination issufficient to depress the rear arm of the coin-testing lever Osufficiently to allow the coin to slide off from said lever, downthrough the coin-guidefi, and thence into the throat-piece, after whichthe slide may be operated as above described.

If a substitute (as a piece of tin) smaller in diameter than the propercoin is inserted in the coin-slot I, it will pass down without properlyacting upon the lip and without drawing forward the top of thecoin-hopper sufficiently to receive said substitute, which willtherefore fall in front of said hopper upon the top of the bracket 3'and roll off into the coin pocket or chute G directly without everentering the throat of the slide. If the substitute be of the samediameter as the coin, but of substantially less weight than the coin,the hopper will be properly actuated, but the substitute will stop onthe coin-testing lever and remain there until the lower end of thehopper is again swung backward by the insertion of another coin orsubstitute, and such backward movement will throw the firstnamedsubstitute off from said lever behind the coin-guidej and allow saidsubstitute to fall through a hole f in the pusher f into the coin-chuteG, the lower end of the coinguide having on the rear an incline orfender 7' to prevent the substitute from striking 011 the top of thethroat-piece f Fig. 1.

To prevent the customer from losing his money when he places a coin inthe coin-slot and the throat-piece is out of its normal position, an armf extends from the throat forward under the coin-guide and prevents saidcoin from dropping until the throat-piece returns to its normalposition.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination in a coin-controlled machineof the guides and a coin-carrying slide, movable thereon and having earsadapted to reach below and under said guides, said guides being narrowedor partly cut away to allow said ears to be passed below said guides.

2. The combination of a stationary pair of guides, and a slide, movablethereon and having a throat-piece provided with a vertical coin-passageextending entirely through the same and adapted to allowa coin ofthe'proper size to pass entirely through said throatpiece, the distancebetween said guides below said throat-piece when said slide is in itsnormal position being less than the diameter of said coin and saidguides being arranged at right angles to said coin-passage and having intheir adjacent sides notches of a width less than the thickness of saidcoin, below said coin-passage when said throat is in normal position, toallow a substitute thinner than said coin to fall through said guides.

3. The combination of guides, a slide,movable thereon and having avertical throat, through which a coin may pass, said guides normallysupporting said coin in said throat and allowing said slide with saidcoin to move freely in its operative direction and said guides having astationary stop-shoulder to engage said coin before said operativemovement is completed and prevent the return movement of said slideuntil said operative movement is completed and said coin is dischargedtherefrom.

4. The combination of the case having a coin-slot, and a swingingcoin-hopper, arranged out of line with said slot and having a lip,arranged at one side of the top thereof and extending across said slot,said lip having its inner side inclined toward the middle of said slot,to cause the upper end of said hopper-t0 swing under said coin-slot whena coin of sufficient diameter is passed through said slot and againstthe inclined side of said lip.

5. The combination of the case having a coin-slot, a swingingcoin-hopper, arranged out of line with said slot and having a lip, arranged at one side of the top thereof and extending across said slot,said lip having its inner side inclined toward the middle of said slot,to cause the upper end of said hopper to to limit the swinging of saidhopper, and a spring, to restore said hopper to normal position.

6. The combination of the case having a coin-slot, a swingingcoin-hopper, arranged out of line with said slot and having a lip,arranged at one side of the top thereof and extending across said slot,said lip having its inner side inclined toward the middle of said slotto cause the upper end of said hopper to swing under said coin-slot whena coin of sufficient diameter is passed through said slot and againstthe inclined side of said lip, stops to limit the swinging of saidhopper, a spring to restore said hopper to normal position, a lever,having an arm arranged below said hopper when the latter is in itsnormal position, and having its other arm weighted, to raise saidfirst-named arm, a stop to limit the upward movement of said unweightedarm, and a coin guide or passage, arranged below said lever and saidhopper, whereby a coin of full weight will be. delivered to said guidefrom said hopper, while a coin or substitute therefor of lighter weightwill be retained by said lever until a subsequent swinging movement ofsaid hopper.

7. The combination of the case, having a back and sides rigidly securedto each other, a frame, secured within said case, said case having afront formed in two parts, one of which is provided on its inner facewith a cleat arranged to bear against the under side of said frame, andwith a horizontal portion adapted to be supported on ledges, secured tothe inner faces of the sides of said case, pins passing through saidhorizontal portion behind said ledges, said pins having enlarged heads,arranged above the top of said horizontal portion and a sash, havingholes to receive said heads and provided with a look.

In witness whereof I have signed this specification, in the presence oftwo attesting witnesses, this 26th day of June, A. D. 1897.

THOMAS J. CONlVAY.

Witnesses:

ALBERT M. MOORE, JOHN A. McGUIRE.

